EXCLUSIVE: Mother of murderer, Vester Flanagan had 'violent outbursts,' Threatened to kill husband & kids, (2945 hits)
docs reveal
The mother of the gunman who murdered two journalists on live TV had violent “outbursts” when he was a child and had threatened to kill her husband and her kids, court papers charge.
The documents unearthed by the Daily News Thursday detail Vester Lee Flanagan’s parents' bitter breakup when he was 8 years old — and his dad's disturbing allegations that Flanagan and his two older sisters weren't safe around their mom Betty.
Vester Lee Flanagan Sr., now 76, filed for divorce and an emergency restraining order in the early 80s, claiming Betty's behavior toward him and the kids had been "extremely menacing and threatening" for months.
"She has also repeatedly threatened my life, at least on one occasion threatening to shoot me in my sleep, and the children have heard these threats and are understandably upset," the paperwork obtained by The News said.
The worried father also claimed Betty "threatened the children with a brush and a belt, and had I not removed these weapons from her hands, I am certain she would have used them on the children."
In his sworn statement, Vester Sr. requested physical custody of the couple's three kids Valerie, Vicki and Vester II, who were ages 10, 9 and 8 at the time.
"She has, for example, threatened the lives and safety of our children as a method of attempting to keep me from leaving the house to go to work," he said.
"At other times the respondent (Betty) is calm, rational, and charming, but the children and I are unable to anticipate or control these outbursts or threats of violence," he wrote.
Vester Flanagan, seen here as a child in a yearbook photo, was "very well-dressed, well-spoken, very polite," an old neighbor remembered.
Vester Flanagan, seen here in middle school and high school yearbook photos, was remembered as "very polite" and a "shy gentleman" by those who knew him growing up.
Betty, who died in 2008, apparently did not respond to the claims with a sworn statement in her defense.
A judge granted the dad's request and awarded him physical custody of the kids with visitation granted to Betty. The court also ordered Betty to move out of the family's home, stay 50 yards away from Vester Sr.'s workplace and not "attack, strike, threaten or otherwise disturb the peace of the three minor children."
The couple's final divorce judgment was granted in August 1982, the records obtained by The News show.
It's not clear if Betty ever moved out of the family's house in Oakland, Calif., but she was living there for decades before her death, neighbors said.
Vester Sr. moved to Vallejo and purchased multiple houses on the same street for himself and his kids.
Attempts to reach Vester Sr. were not immediately successful Thursday.
A family spokeswoman apologized for Flanagan's killings on Wednesday, as others from the ex-reporter's past showed their shock at how the well-spoken man known as "Little Vester" snapped.
"It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness we express our deepest condolences to the families of Alison Parker and Adam Ward," Amber Bowen, a representative for Flanagan's family, told media in Vallejo, Calif. "We are praying for the recovery of Vicki Gardner (the third shooting victim). Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with the victims' families and the WDBJ television station family."
Bowen, who went to high school with Flanagan, said she promised the family she wouldn't discuss her history with him.
After the press conference, a woman who said she is a cousin of Flanagan, and identified herself only as "Kathy," told The News: "We do need our privacy. We're grieving as well."
Vester Sr. is a former college football star who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers but apparently never played with the team.
Betty taught high school in Oakland for 37 years and was well-liked by her neighbors, who recalled her as quiet and polite.
Flanagan's disturbed past emerged after he shot three people on live TV Wednesday morning, killing two of his former colleagues from the WDBJ news station in Roanoke before he posted his own video of the killings and fatally shot himself during a manhunt.
Flanagan's former co-workers at WDBJ and other stations remembered him as an impossible colleague known for angry outbursts and accusations of racism.
But others saw him in a better light.
Virginia Shooter Vester Lee Flanagan Had Sued News Station for Discrimination
The gunman who fatally shot a Virginia TV news reporter and cameraman during a live broadcast Wednesday was a former model and "high-paid companion" before he turned into a disgruntled former employee. Vester Lee Flanagan II, who went by his on-air name Bryce Williams, had tweeted several revealing photos last week showing his glory days during his earlier acting and modeling career. The series of photos came to an end Wednesday when the former WDBJ used the account to live tweet his fatal war path. He accused the victims — reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27 — of racial prejudice, alluding to complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the station’s human resources department.
NY Daily News
Virginia Shooter Vester Lee Flanagan Had Sued News Station for Discrimination
The gunman who fatally shot a Virginia TV news reporter and cameraman during a live broadcast Wednesday was a former model and "high-paid companion" before he turned into a disgruntled former employee. Vester Lee Flanagan II, who went by his on-air name Bryce Williams, had tweeted several revealing photos last week showing his glory days during his earlier acting and modeling career. The series of photos came to an end Wednesday when the former WDBJ used the account to live tweet his fatal war path. He accused the victims — reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27 — of racial prejudice, alluding to complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the station’s human resources department.
